It turns out that the trunk and the driver’s seat are the areas with the highest levels of bacterial contamination. They were even found to contain fecal bacteria.

The study, reported by price comparison website Scrap Car Comparison, shows that the highest levels of bacterial contamination were found in the car trunk (1,425 bacteria identified) and on the driver’s seat (649).

The gearshift, dashboard and back seat also had high levels of bacterial contamination, all equalling or exceeding those found on the average domestic toilet seat and flush.

In the end, the steering wheel (146 bacteria) was the least contaminated area of the car.

This can be partly explained by the widespread use of hand sanitizer gel in the recent past due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps more worryingly, all of the cars the scientists swabbed for the study contained faecal bacteria in the trunk, and faecal matter was found on the driver’s seat.

It should be noted that there is a correlation between the age of a car and the levels of bacteria found, with older vehicles having the highest number of germs.

As a result, drivers may want to reconsider eating in their cars, or should at least make sure that they wash their hands thoroughly and avoid eating any food that drops on the floor or seat, for example.

Similarly, fresh produce like fruit and vegetables stored in the trunk should be cleaned before eating, especially if it has come in direct contact with interior surfaces.

It’s also wise to clean your car regularly to avoid the build-up of bacteria over time.

To conduct this study, researchers from Aston University’s School of Biosciences took samples from the interior of various cars (a Peugeot 307-SW, a VW Golf, a Ford Focus, a Honda Jazz and a Peugeot 308) to establish their levels of bacterial contamination.